Just Purchased My 2002

[Dave02EX]

Just wanted to stop in and check things out and ask a few questions,

I just purchased my

2002 Ford Explorer XLT Sport 4x4 Loaded!!
4.0L SOHC v6 210 HP
Black on Charcol Leather Interior
Power windows, Door Locks, Tilt, Cruise, Air
2 dr , Power sunroof , heated seats, climate controll hole 9 yards.
37'550 Miles.

I dont pick the truck up till Friday, 30, 05 and I still have the option to purchase warranty for the truck and I dont know if I should or not as ive never owned anything this new and keep hearing about all the "electrical issues people are haveing with newer vehicels.

Basically the additional warranty is good for 2 years

it covers :

Engine ( pretty much everything)
Transmission
Transfer case
Towing'
Roadside assistance
Breakdown away from home coverage
Electrical ( minus ABS and computer controlled systems)
Front suspension
AC
brakes ( minus pads and rotors)
Seals and gaskets
Fuel Injection
steering

The extra coverage is $1500 for 2 years

Are the 2000-2005 Explorers known for electrical problems? or any other serious issues? or would you think like myself and say " screw it.

Or would the warranty be a good option to pick up?

The one concern I have about the truck is, and I happened to notice this on all the explorers, is that the rear glass right were the top hindges mount they bothy have small short rust lines running down the glass is there anyway to remove this ugly stain?

thanks

Dave

 

[Rick]

It already has 37,000 miles. I would pick up the warranty since things tend to start going wrong after the factory warranty runs out... Hate to say it, but it's planned obsolescene. They are very good vehicles without too many problems. However, one tranny rebuild and the warranty will have payed for itself.

 

[Dave02EX]

thanks

So basically what your saying is... These are known for transmission problems?

I will take the warranty in that case..

thanks for the quick reply

take care

Dave

 

[Rick]

Trannies don't go bad below 100k in all Explorers, but it's been known to happen and a rebuild is $$$. A warranty is just another form of insurance. Sometimes you'll never need it, but when you do it's sure nice to have.

 

[grumpy]

The dealer gets a very high comission on those extended warranties. You might argue with him over the price and get a better deal.

A few years ago, a boat dealer thought I was going to back out of a deal over the price of the extended warranty and he offered it to me at his cost which was 1/2 the regular price.

 

[Rick]

The dealer gets a very high comission on those extended warranties. You might argue with him over the price and get a better deal.

A few years ago, a boat dealer thought I was going to back out of a deal over the price of the extended warranty and he offered it to me at his cost which was 1/2 the regular price.

That's very true...


My wife and I had made a deal on a new '94 Camaro. We needed the payments to be at a specific level and no higher. We shook hands with the salesmen and he sent us to the finance office. The finance guy said. You have to buy the extended warranty for X number of dollars to get the car for the price the salesmen told you.

I still had the keys to the Camaro in my hand from the test drive. I stood up, set them on the table and walked out. The salesmen was standing near the entrance to the dealership and asked why I was leaving. I told him the story and he said, "just a minute, I'll have my manage talk to him". Well... the manager talked to the finance guy and we ended up using another finance guy at the dealership. The warranty was never brought up again.

This was for a new car so it already had a warranty and we knew we weren't going to be keeping the car long enough for the extended to kick in. You've gotta watch those guys.

 

[drake437]

Save your money. Get an Oasis run on the truck and see what has been done under warranty. The chances of a $1500 repair that early in mileage is slim.

 

[explorer4x493]

I'd get it. My tranny went out on mine at 58k. Needed a new one, not just a rebuild...fortunately they have a warranty for two years cuz it's acting up again. That answer your Q?

 

[km618]

Also don't forget the rear differential and bearing problems. I would get it if you are planning on keeping it.
Kevin

 

[gforceman]

bought 02 explorer 1 year ago paid 10k - no warrenty had 86k - 6 mo later 1500.00 rear wheel bearings diff seals , lucky my rear dont howel as of yet . 400.00 four struts installed myself what a nut buster lol my advise GET A WARRENTY

 

[JasonF]

See if you can get the API extended warranty. http://www.apiprotection.com/ If you dont use it by the end you get the full purchase price back. (Just be careful since you only have 30 days from the end of the warranty term to file for the reimbursement)

Jason

 

[jrford]

400.00 four struts installed GET A WARRENTY

I'd second on the Struts, if they cover them under a warrenty which they didn't. Quote was 800 although I got a 'deal' for 400 installed.

 

[davidmmm69]

go ahead and pass on it... put the $1500 in the bank.. as you are buying peace of mind..
same reason my 4 year old has not had health insurance on him one day of his life..
he is healthy and to add him an extra 300 a month. yeah right i self insure him by putting x amount of dollars away a month,
so basically. i would pass. since owning my 2002 have put 20000 plus in one year and only had one rear wheel bearing go 2 days after i bought it.. about $300 later. but that was over a year ago..
it is like flip a coin . it all depends on if murphy gets in the passenger side when you bought it and drove away.

 

[gtmud]

02-05 problems

I too have bought an 02 XLT loaded!, I took it on a run to Pa from NC and its in teh dealer already getting the rear-end rebuild, allong with looking at the tranny!
I did some research on this model year and found that the 02 was the FIRST year to have the rear independant suspension and the 5 speed auto, that is sealed from servicing! Go to myCarStats.com and read up on the 02-05 explorers. It is anything but good. The rear ends are weak, mine was leaking fluid and whining badly. The trannys have issues with delay in shifting into "D", and having rolback before it engages. Also the shifting is another major issue, if the dealer trys to tell you that its a "learning" Tranny, thats normal, he/she is FULL OF CRAP! It should shift smoothly, unlike mine and many others it shift hard at mild acceleration ( almost like a shift kit) Fortunatly I have a "good" dealership and the work is getting done for free! Also look at your oil filter, mine started leaking ( dealer fixing too)
The Explorer rides very nice and is very roomy, and sure footed on winter roads. I hope that whatever the issues that FOrd had with the engineering of this vehicle gets remedied. There is a TSB on the rear, you should be able to get the dealer to honor it. Oh, Good on getting the warrenty! I have the Premium Ford warenty, very glad now, especialy learning what I have!

 

[TexasKiddo]

Extended Warranty

We purchased our 2002 Explorer XLT Loaded...28K miles... back in April of 2005, we also purchased the extended warranty, cost us $1500.00 ...Had to have the transmission rebuilt about 1 month after we bought it, Had brakes all around replaced, and also the rear fan for the AC went out and they replaced it as well, cost us $100 total, because we have a $100 deductible each time we bring it in to have repairs done... so it paid for itself with the Trany and Ac Fan repairs.... but when we had to take our Explorer into the dealer today they told us that the warranty DID NOT cover the three sensors that they said needed replaced...which are the O2 Sensor, DPFE, and IAC...quoted $501 to replace the three...I would have thought the warranty would cover them... They said, NO.... but did some searching and found I can do all three of them myself for about $140 for the parts. Have a good one!

TKiddo

 

[valiantski]

02 sensor. DPFE and IAC sensor may not be covered by the extended warranty you purchased, but maybe covered by FORD emission warranty. The Ford emission warranty is longer than their bumber to bumper warranty. Some emission components are covered for 5 years/50,000 miles, some components are covered for 7 years/75,000 miles which ever comes first. 02 sensor, DPFE and IAC are emission components and maybe very well covered with the Ford emission warranty unless your mileage exceeds. Most service advisor won't tell you that, but i will call them again and convince them that you are aware of the Ford emission warranty. Good Luck!

 

[grumpy]

The DPFE sensor warranty was extended by 2 years or 24,000 miles. I replaced mine after the extended warranty was out and it only cost $30 at the Ford dealer. It took about a minute to install it myself. The dealership wanted something like $140 to install it. I found what it looked like and where it was located by searching this forum.

 

[TexasKiddo]

Ford Garage Says Problem is all three..

Ok well, when the SES light started comming on and vehicle is hesitating during idol, or sitting at a stoplight, we took it to the Ford Garage, they pulled the code and said all three sensors, DPFE, IAC, and O2 Downstream sensors were bad, need replaced... took it to Autozone, they pulled the code, and it only gave one code, but they said it could be one of the three, so have replaced the O2 Downstream, reset... then drove a bit, SES came on again.... Changed DPFE, reset.... SES On again... so now gonna have to change the IAC.. hopefully this will help...Any suggestions? Thanks Alot

 

[fndngemo]

holy crap... I found this thread while looking for tips on what to look for when looking at 02-03 explorers. I was planning on heading to a dealership this week to look at a couple, but after reading this I'm scared out of my mind. I had done my researching at edmunds.com and they highly recommended the explorer and since my current '03 ranger hasn't given me any problems I thought I'd be safe. Are they really that prone to problems as this thread makes it seem?

 

[FordLover]

holy crap... I found this thread while looking for tips on what to look for when looking at 02-03 explorers. I was planning on heading to a dealership this week to look at a couple, but after reading this I'm scared out of my mind. I had done my researching at edmunds.com and they highly recommended the explorer and since my current '03 ranger hasn't given me any problems I thought I'd be safe. Are they really that prone to problems as this thread makes it seem?

They may have more problems that many other SUVs on the road, but you've also got to remember there are a lot more explorers on the road than any other SUV. my 02 still has low miles, but it's been trouble free, only taken it in for little items like a leaky strut, and discolored trim on the doors. And mine has the V8 that is suposedly more troublesome than the V6 as far as trannies go.
They are great trucks for the price, and there are tons to choose from.